Neymar used to be heavily linked with the potential Barcelona return. He was reported to be unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain and determined to rejoin his former side and close friends - Leo Messi and Luis Suarez. The Catalan press even claimed that the Brazilian called endlessly the Blaugrana board and begged them to take him back.
However, the rumours nearly ceased to exist following Neymar's disappointing injury. The Brazilian has been out of action since January as he sustained the same metatarsal injury which ruled him out for the final three months of the 2017/2018 season. He is currently recovering in his native Brazil and finds some time to speak with the press.
In an interview with the local top source Globo, the Brazilian thanks Leo Messi for helping him a lot during his Blaugrana tenure: "Leo was a very special guy for me at Barcelona . I always tell everyone this story."
Neymar explains how exactly the Argentinean supported him: "In the moment I needed his support the most, the man of the team, the best in the world came to me, took my hand and told me ‘come here, you have to be yourself, you have to be happy, you have to be the same lad you were at Santos, don’t be timid, don’t be afraid of me or anyone, I am here to help you.'
Neymar even admits he was crying at that time: "You arrive a bit timidly, afraid of making mistakes, playing your game is a bit more complicated, when he gave me his support, when he told me this was at half-time in a game. I was crying in the dressing room, I can’t play my football, nothing is coming off, that’s when I stopped and thought… If Leo is telling me this, why not? It was there I felt most calm, when we started to become friends."
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